Maharana Ari Singh Searching the Skies

Acquired in London in the late 1980s
The property of a Private New York Collection since 1989

Excellent overall condition. The green background is brighter in the original illustration. Slight stains on the background consistent with age and some losses to the horse's gold trappings adjoining its head. Inscription in verso has been reproduced in the catalog illustration.
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Astride his beautiful white caparisoned stallion Chaba Sudar - a youthful haloed and bearded Maharana Ari Singh (r. 1761-1773) rides at full gallop.  His arm upraised and his face intently looking upward.  On a green landscape plain as blue gray clouds swirl above.

A superbly painted work - inscribed and dated to 1764 AD - an early moment in Maharana Ari Singh's reign.  Considering the great number of extant works created at the Royal Udaipur workshops from this period few equal the high quality and exuberance of this lively work.  This stunning miniature utilizes lavish gold - heightening the details of the Maharana's clothing and horses tassels and fittings.  Ari Singhs red-flecked pagri with bejeweled aigrette is strapped under his chin with a gold band for energetic riding.  He wears a brilliant gold embellished scarlet jama and golden patka sash.  Notable and quite unusual are the idiosyncratically-angling ears of the charging horse and the microscopically tiny pockmarks which cover Ari Singh's face - doubtless naturalistically observed.

This intriguing subject of Maharana Ari Singh looking upward while at full gallop with a gesturing upraised arm is very rare and seems to defy immediate explanation.  Is he shielding his eyes from the sun?  Perhaps scanning the skies for his falcon to return from the hunt - his receiving forearm at the ready.  Clearly the Maharana enjoyed depictions of himself as an expert horseman - taking the opportunity here to show his skills riding at a gallop - and in full control - even while barely looking.  Interestingly given the prodigious output of the Royal Mewar atelier in this period we know of no other extant miniatures of the Maharana so curiously posed in this fashion.  We do know that he took great pride in his royal stables of  well-cared-for stallions and throughout his reign commissioned his painting workshops to produce series' of portraits of his favorite horses - each horse depicted fully caparisoned and their names carefully recorded - with attending riders and grooms remaining anonymous.   

Although Maharana Ari Singh’s interest in painting waned and patronage funds dissipated later in his reign this painting was created early when excellent quality works were still being produced in the royal atelier by artists Bhopa, Kesu Ram, Bhima and others in their circle who must have collaborated within close proximity to each other.  The present painting is among the highest quality produced by the atelier and is attributed here to the circle of Bhopa - one of the Rana’s greatest masters.

Maharana Ari Singh was a member of the great Rajput Sisodia Dynasty which claimed royal descent from Surya the Sun God and the God-hero Rama.  The inscription in black ink on the reverse of the painting begins with the honorific “Sri Rama Ji “ to Rama the Great!

On the reverse five lines of black ink Devanagari script as follows:

Sri Ramji / pano shri maharajadhiraja maharanaji sri arasiha (Great Maharana Ari Singh) / ji ri surat ghode chaba sudar asavar pano citare la / lu sri hajur nijar ki do pano ori jama samvat 1821 (SV 1821 = 1764 AD) rama / ga sa ra sud 3 ri vai

For further information see Andrew Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan, Melbourne, 1980, cat. 171 and pp. 110-125 and Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art Under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, Zurich, 2002.